Hello! I'm Carlene and have been in private practice for over 20 years working with individuals and couples, children and young people and families, offering both short term and open ended therapy.
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Sometimes, psychotherapy and counselling are called ‘talking therapies’. Mostly, this is because they involve talking about an emotional difficulty with a trained therapist. You may touch on problems you are facing, from grief to anxiety, relationship difficulties to addiction.
Psychotherapists are trained to help you express your thoughts and feelings and explore what comes up when you do. They listen and provide a non-judgmental space so you can feel heard and understood.
You don’t need to be in crisis or have a diagnosed mental illness to have psychotherapy. It can help you with emotional or mental health problems, including:-
• anxiety
• feeling like you can’t cope
• problems dealing with stress or recovering from stressful situations
• lack of confidence or extreme shyness
• coping with the effects of abuse
• feelings of depression, sadness, grief or emptiness
• extreme mood swings
• difficulty making or sustaining relationships, or repeatedly becoming involved in unsatisfying or destructive relationships
• sexual problems
• difficulties coming to terms with losses such as bereavement, divorce or unemployment
• eating disorders
• self-harm
• obsessive behaviour
• panic attacks and phobias
Psychotherapy recognises the lasting impact of trauma. This is when stressful events you experience or witness make you feel unsafe, helpless or vulnerable. The work can be to think about what has happened to you, not what is wrong with you. The focus is on compassion, listening and understanding rather than diagnosing.
Services Offered:-
Adult Individual Therapy
Adult Relationship Therapy (Couple’s Therapy)
Family Therapy
Children and Young People’s Therapy
Specialist ADHD support (to include coaching)
Therapy for the blind or partially sighted
Supervision is a formal process in which a qualified or trainee psychotherapist or counsellor regularly present their client work to a designated or chosen supervisor as a way of enhancing their practice through careful reflection on the process.
The main purpose of supervision is to ensure the efficacy of the therapist’s psychotherapy practice which, in turn, will enable a therapist to work towards the best possible psychotherapy practice for their clients.
Supervision is conducted within a formal working relationship. But it can take different constructs such as in groups or on a one-to-one basis.
In the UK, Clinical Supervision is a mandatory requirement for ongoing professional registration and insurance.
Services Offered:-
Individual Clinical Supervision
Group Clinical Supervision
A family consultant is a qualified professional often with a background in psychology, counselling, social work, or family therapy who specialises in working with individuals, couples and families experiencing divorce or separation. Their primary role is to provide emotional support, guidance, and practical assistance throughout the process of family breakdown.
Key Responsibilities
• Emotional Support: Helping divorcing couples and family members manage stress, conflict and the emotional challenges associated with separation.
• Facilitation of Communication: Assisting parties in improving communication and fostering constructive dialogue, which is particularly beneficial when children are involved.
• Guidance and Education: Providing information about the divorce process, parenting after separation, and the impact of divorce on children and family dynamics
• Conflict Resolution: Supporting families in resolving disputes amicably and promoting cooperative decision-making, often through mediation or collaborative law processes.
• Collaboration with Legal Professions: Working alongside solicitors, mediators, and other legal experts to ensure that the emotional and psychological needs of the clients are integrated into the legal proceedings.
Role within the Legal and Collaborative Processes
Family Consultants are frequently engaged in collaborative law settings, where the aim is to resolve family disputes without resorting to court. In this context, they act as neutral facilitators, ensuring that both parties’ voices are heard and supporting the overall well-being of the family. They may attend joint meetings, offer strategies for managing emotions, and help maintain a child focused approach.
Services Offered:-
Family Consultant engaged by the separating couple
Family Consultant engaged by individual of separating couple
Family Consultant engaged by Law firm or mediation services.
I have been in private practice for over 20 years working with individuals and couples, children and young people and families, offering both short term and open ended therapy.
My experience has been gained through working in various settings such as schools, statutory, mental health, charities and voluntary agencies. I have worked with the charity Relate for over 20 years as both a Therapist and Clinical Supervisor and worked within the NHS’s Talking Therapies (previously IAPT) service working as an experienced accredited therapist offering Couple’s Therapy for Depression (CTfD), working with couples where one or both have depression or anxiety.
Neurodivergence is an area in which I have a huge wealth of experience and have qualified specifically to work with people who would like to explore their ADHD.
Over the years I have worked with many couples who have accessed couple’s therapy. Many want to improve different aspects of their relationships to stay together, having healthier more satisfying relationships. Some couples however access couple’s therapy because they want to separate, and they want to find a way to separate well. I chose to train as a Family Consultant as I was also noticing clients who were separating or who had separated who were needing support in holding their children at the centre through divorce, creating a successful co-parenting relationship. My experience means I am able to support couples regardless of what their decisions are around staying together or separating.
I have worked as a Clinical Supervisor for a number of years and bring the benefit of experience and numerous qualifications to be able to offer supervision within a number of settings and with different groups and individuals.
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is the professional association for members of the counselling professions in the UK. I have been a member of the association since 2005 and work alongside their ethical framework and I am in support of their objectives and values. I am also an Accredited Registrant of The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) a further professional body which sets standards and supports ethical practice in counselling and psychotherapy.
Other important information:-
I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and follow their requirements in upholding information rights and UK GDPR.
I have an up to date enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
I offer a free no obligation 15 minutes introductory call. You can ask me questions about how therapy “works” or talk through any concerns or fears you may have regarding starting therapy. This call is not an assessment or therapy session, just a short “get to know each other” call.
Therapy sessions are available currently online only, please contact for prices.
All sessions are 50 minutes in duration, although longer can be negotiated for couples work. Sessions are usually weekly.
Clinical Supervision fees start from £60 per hour.
I review my fees annually in January.
You can contact me via this page or ring me on my work specific mobile phone. I have an answer machine so if you leave me a message, I will return your call as promptly as I can. We can then arrange a mutually convenient time to meet to discuss your therapy or supervision needs.
I aim to respond to all enquiries within 24 hours but please note that I do not respond or work over the weekend.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I offer a free 15 minutes introductory call to understand a little about you and your circumstances and to give you the opportunity to ask any questions.
As a Therapist I will support you to open up and sometimes just talking can help you see things differently; I will listen and ask questions but will not give you advice.
I offer a safe and confidential space which provides you with the opportunity to talk with a trained professional about issues affecting you that you would perhaps feel uncomfortable discussing with your family or friends. I am ethically bound to keep what you share private.
Yes! I am trained and qualified as a telephone and online therapist. I see working at a distance/online as another way of offering therapy to people in our now ever developing digital world. I have extensive experience of working online.
All sessions are 50 minutes in duration, although longer can be negotiated for couples work. Sessions are usually weekly.
Therapy can be anything from a few weeks to a number of years engagement and commitment. You decide which is best for you at this time. You can always come back at a later stage and carry on.
Monday to Friday by appointment